Take one action hero movie, make it family-friendly, stir in a good ensemble cast with a liberal splash of humour, watch for two hours. Result: a satisfying and enjoyable experience.
I was wondering how Marvel was going to pull this one off, with Ant-man being one of their more, um, tangential superheroes - you know, a guy who can make himself really small. Doesn't sound great compared to a god of thunder or a man in a flying suit of armor, but I think Marvel did a great job in making this movie one where the suspension of disbelief was a pleasure rather than a duty.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just served three years in prison for a white collar crime. His estranged wife tells him: no access to their daughter until he gets a job and an apartment. This is no easy task for an ex-jailbird. And then fate dangles an illicit job in front of his nose. It could be the solution to all his problems. Instead, it back-fires and Scott winds up on the run from the law. His only assets: a super costume that allows him to become really small, and a dubious new relationship with Dr Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), the suit's creator. And then the fun begins.
The movie starts by showcasing the best special effect to date: they made Michael Douglas look thirty years old again. We're not talking about some Photoshopped snaps in a family album. No, we're talking about the man walking about and acting. Uncanny. You would swear the guy had just come from the set of The Streets of San Francisco. This is not to say that this movie is a special effects one-trick pony. No, the fight sequences involve some pretty impressive work, too. And then there are the ants. Lots of them. Great work all round.
The movie casting was spot-on. Paul Rudd is suited perfectly [pun-intended] to his dad-down-on-his-luck-cum-accidental-superhero role. Corey Stoll is impressive and imposing as the deranged bad-guy. Evangeline Lilly is a thwarted but still kick-ass female lead. Michael Douglas plays a pivotal but nicely understated role throughout the proceedings. But keep your eye on Michael Peña in the role of best-friend Luis: his is a wonderful comic performance.
There really is a lot in this movie to be pleased about: visual and verbal gags abound, the action is pacy and never weighed down by the mandatory passages of exposition, the performances are fine and the special effects are WOW!
Go see it. Worth the price of admission.
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